U.S. HISPANIC
Actress and screenwriter Marta González de Vega: The ritual of watching movies in theaters is a very different artistic experience
Maribel Ramos-Weiner| 13 de diciembre de 2023
Marta González de Vega, actriz y guionista española
In the latest edition of the Recent Cinema From Spain festival, held in Miami in mid-November, Marta González de Vega, actress and screenwriter, presented her comedy De Caperucita a Loba by director Chus Gutiérrez.
“The film was released in theaters in Spain and is now on Prime Video in Spain, and premiered in theaters in Peru. It was the first time screened in the US as part of the Recent Cinema From Spain festival, organized by Egeda,” said de Vega.
For de Vega, streaming platforms are relevant because a movie can be seen worldwide in just one day. But at the same time, she is worried about people avoiding theaters. “For me, the ritual of watching movies in theaters is a very different artistic experience, and for humor, which is what I do, having it among the community is essential.”
“Platforms do a brutal job of extending borders. I am very grateful to those borders that extend because I met Santiago Segura (Spanish director with whom she made the film saga Padre no Hay más que Uno) at the Platinum Awards, which are the Ibero-American Oscars. De Caperucita a Loba is a Spanish-Peruvian co-production.” She added that the platforms also allow all films made in Spanish to be viewed equally in any country. “It is a shame making remakes of films already shot in our language, in Spanish. At an industry level, it seems essential to me that we can see Spanish cinema. For example, there is a lot of flow regarding Argentine cinema, but not so much in other countries. We need the industry to promote more of that,” she said.
She said that De Caperucita a Loba has been a wonderful personal experience. The film is based on a book she published in 2015 and became a one-woman play in 2016, a show running in Madrid for eight seasons on Gran Vía. “The film was the culmination of a beautiful process that has touched all areas. For me, it is relevant on a personal level. It became possible after all this time because these seven years since I published the book coincided with me meeting the director Santiago Segura, and together we have written eight films: Padre no Hay más que Uno, A Todo Tren, and Vacaciones de Verano. The last one reached worldwide on Netflix and is on the top 10 list in all Latin American countries.”
By 2024, de Vega will release the fourth film of the saga Padre no Hay más que Uno, estimated to be released on July 18.
She considers the Hispanic industry to be living a “wonderful moment” worldwide. “In the US, everything coming from Spain and Latino content, in general, is highly valued. I think this is only fair because great things are being done.”
According to de Vega, the Hispanic market “is very important,” in which films like De Caperucita a Loba (from Little Red Riding Hood to Wolf) can work phenomenally in all Spanish-speaking countries. “It appeals and talks about everything we feel when we fall in love when we all get pathetic and ridiculous, and laughing about it is a way to empower ourselves, stop suffering, and start enjoying. For me, From Little Red Riding Hood to Wolf is about a Little Red Riding Hood who learned to laugh at herself and consider it a superpower because if we can laugh harder at ourselves, no one can hurt us with anything.”
